Documenti di Didattica
Documenti di Professioni
Documenti di Cultura
[edit]Terminology
There is no set accepted definition of what comprises the Left-Hand Path and what comprises the Right. Early
proponents of the terms, such as Madame Blavatsky, believed that they were essentially conflatable with Black
Magic and White, although this has been criticised by later occultists as being overly simplistic.
[edit]The Right-Hand Path
The Right-Hand Path is commonly thought to refer to magical or religious groups which adhere to a certain set of
characteristics:
• They adhere to social conventions and avoid taboos.
• They divide the concepts of mind, body and spirit into three separate, albeit interrelated entities.[3]
• They adhere to a specific moral code and a belief in some form of judgement, such as karma or
the Threefold Law.[3]
Esoteric groups that could be considered to be RHP include Hermeticism, Theosophy, the New Age
movement as well as various Neopagan religions such as Druidry, Wicca, Kemetism,Celtic Neopaganism, Slavic
Neopaganism, Germanic Neopaganism, and certain traditions of Thelema such as the Ordo Templi Orientis and
the Ecclesia Gnostica Catholica, or the Gnostic Catholic Church. Right-Hand
Path Tantra (Sanskrit: Dakshinachara) is also included. Some esotericists[who?]also consider the non-
magical Abrahamic religions such asChristianity and Islam to be RHP, although the terms are rarely used outside
of magical groups[citation needed].
[edit]The Left-Hand Path
The historian Dave Evans studied self-professed followers of the Left-Hand Path in the early 21st century,
making several observations about their practices:
• They often reject societal convention and the status quo, which some suggest is in a search for spiritual
freedom. As a part of this, LHP followers embrace magical techniques that would traditionally be viewed
as taboo, for instance using sex magic or embracing Satanic imagery.[4] As Mogg Morgan wrote, the
"breaking of taboos makes magick more potent and can lead to reintegration and liberation, [for
example] the eating of meat in a vegetarian community can have the same liberating effect as anal
intercourse in a sexually inhibited straight society."[5]
• They often question religious or moral dogma, instead adhering to forms of personal anarchism.[6]
• They often embrace sexuality and incorporate it into magical ritual.[7]
Under these definitions, various esoteric groups, often with widely differing beliefs, could be considered to be
followers of the LHP. These include various forms of Satanism, such asLaVeyan Satanism (which is organised
through both the Church of Satan and the rival First Satanic Church) as well as Theistic Satanism. Other
Western LHP philosophies includeLuciferianism, Setianism, the Typhonian Order, Chaos Magic, Feri, and
magicians who deal in demonology, as well as groups like the Dragon Rouge and the Order of Nine Angles.
Several eastern philosophies could also be viewed as adhering to the LHP, including Taoism forms
of Hinduism such as Aghoris and Vamachara, forms of Buddhism like Dugpas andPantheism.
[edit]Criticism
Criticism of both terms has come from various different occultists. The Magistar of the Cultus Sabbati, Andrew
Chumbley, stated that they were simply "theoretical constructs" that were "without definitive objectivity", and that
nonetheless, both forms could be employed by the magician - he used the analogy of a person having two
hands, a right and a left, both of which served the same master.[8] Similar sentiments were expressed by
the Wiccan High Priest John Belham-Payne, who stated that "For me, magic is magic."[9]
[edit]History of the terms
[edit]Vamachara
Main article: Vamachara
Vāmācāra (pronounced: vāmāchāra) is a Sanskrit term meaning "left-handed attainment" and is synonymous
with "Left-Hand Path" or "Left-path" (Sanskrit: Vāmamārga).[10][11][12] It is used to describe a particular mode
of worship or 'spiritual practice' (Sanskrit: sadhana) that are not only 'heterodox' (Sanskrit: Nāstika) to
standard Vedic injunction, but extreme in comparison to the status quo. These practices are often generally
considered to be Tantric in orientation. The converse term to Vamacara is Dakshinachara (Sanskrit) (glossed
'Right-Hand Path') which is used to refer not only to 'orthodox' (Sanskrit: Āstika) sects but to modes of spirituality
that engage in spiritual practices that not only accord with Vedic injunction but are generally agreeable to
the status quo. That said, left-handed and right-handed modes of practice may be evident in both orthodox and
heterodox schools of Dharmic Traditions such as Hinduism, Jainism, Sikhism and Buddhism and is a matter of
taste, culture, proclivity, initiation, sadhana and Dharmic 'lineage' (Sanskrit: parampara).
[edit]Tantra and Madame Blavatsky
The occidental use of the terms Left-Hand Path and Right Hand-Path originated with Madame Blavatsky, a 19th
century occultist who founded Theosophy. She had travelled across parts of southern Asia and claimed to have
met with many mystics and magical practitioners in India and Tibet. She developed the term Left-Hand Path as a
translation of the term Vama-marga, an Indian Tantric practice that emphasised the breaking of Hindu societal
taboos by having sexual intercourse in ritual, drinking alcohol, eating meat and assembling in graveyards, as a
part of the spiritual practice. The term Vama-marga literally meant "the left-hand way" in Sanskrit, and it was
from this that Blavatsky first coined the term.[13]
Returning to Europe, Blavatsky began using the term. It was relatively easy for her to associate left with evil in
many European countries, where it already had an association with many negative things; as the historian Dave
Evans noted, homosexuals were referred to as "left-handed" whilst in Protestant nations, Roman Catholics were
called "left-footers".[14] This association with negative aspects of society can be traced back to the Bible, in
which it states:
And he shall separate them one from another,
as a shepherd divideth his sheep from the goats.
And he shall set the sheep on his right,
but the goats on his left.
— Matthew 25: 32-33
[edit]Adoption into the Western Esoteric Tradition
In New York Madame Blavatsky founded the Theosophical Society with several other people in 1875. She set
about writing several books, including Isis Unveiled (1877) in which she introduced the terms Left-Hand
Path and Right-Hand Path, firmly stating that she herself followed the RHP, and that followers of the LHP were
practitioners of Black Magic who were a threat to society. Soon, certain other occultists soon picked up on her
newly introduced duality, which, according to historian Dave Evans, "had not been known before" in the Western
Esoteric Tradition.[15] For instance, Dion Fortune, the founder of the esoteric magical group, the Society of the
Inner Light also took the side of the RHP, making the claim that "black magicians", or followers of the LHP,
were homosexuals and that Indian servants might use malicious magical rites devoted to the
goddess Kali against their European masters.[16]
Aleister Crowley further altered and popularized the term in certain occult circles, referring to a "Brother of the
Left-Hand Path," or a "Black Brother," as one who failed to attain the grade of Magister Templi in Crowley's
system of ceremonial magic.[17] Crowley also referred to the Left-Hand Path when describing the point at which
the Adeptus Exemptus (such as his old Christian mentor, Macgregor Mathers) chooses to cross the Abyss,
which is the location of Choronzon and the illusory eleventh Sephira, which is Da'ath or Knowledge. In this
example, the adept must surrender all, including the guidance of his Holy Guardian Angel, and leap into the
Abyss. If his accumulated Karma is sufficient, and if he has been utterly thorough in his own self-destruction, he
becomes a "babe of the abyss," arising as a Star in the Crowleyan system. On the other hand, if he retains some
fragment of ego, or if he fears to cross, he then becomes encysted. The layers of his self, which he could have
shed in the Abyss, ossify around him. He is then titled a "Brother of the Left-Hand Path," who will eventually be
broken up and disintegrated against his will, since he failed to choose voluntary disintegration.[17] Crowley
associated all this with "Mary, a blasphemy against BABALON," and with the celibacy of Christian clergy.[17]
Another of those figures that Fortune considered to be a follower of the LHP was Arthur Edward Waite, who did
not recognise these terms, and acknowledged that they were newly introduced and that in any case he believed
the terms LHP and RHP to be distinct from Black and White Magic.[18] However, despite Waite's attempts to
distinguish the two, the equation of the LHP with Black Magic was propagated more widely in the fiction
of Dennis Wheatley, Wheatley also conflated the two with Satanism and also the political ideology
ofcommunism, which he viewed as a threat to traditional British society.[19] In one of his novels, Strange
Conflict (1941), he stated that:
The Order of the Left-Hand Path...
has its adepts... the Way of
Darkness is perpetuated in the
horrible Voodoo cult which had its
origins in Madagascar and has
heldAfrica, the Dark Continent, in
its grip for centuries.[20]
[edit]See also
• Aghori
• Charnel ground
• Kapalika
• Kaula
[edit]References
1. ^ Evans, Dave (2007). The History of British Magick after Crowley. Hidden Publishing. Page 152.
2. ^ Evans, Dave (2007). The History of British Magick after Crowley. Hidden Publishing. Page 176.
3. ^ a b Hine, Phil, quoted in Evans, Dave (2007). The History of British Magick after Crowley. Hidden
Publishing. Page 204.
4. ^ Evans, Dave (2007). The History of British Magick after Crowley. Hidden Publishing. Page 197.
5. ^ Shual. Sexual Magick. Page 31.
6. ^ Evans, Dave (2007). The History of British Magick after Crowley. Hidden Publishing. Page 198.
7. ^ Evans, Dave (2007). The History of British Magick after Crowley. Hidden Publishing. Page 205.
8. ^ Chumbley, Andrew, quoted in Evans, Dave (2007). The History of British Magick after Crowley. Hidden
Publishing. Page 212-213.
9. ^ Chumbley, Andrew, quoted in Evans, Dave (2007). The History of British Magick after Crowley. Hidden
Publishing. Page 214.
10. ^ Bhattacharya, N. N. History of the Tantric Religion pp. 81, 447. (1999) ISBN 81-7304-025-7
11. ^ Kaal Ugranand Saraswati differentiating “traditional Vamamarga” from conceptions of the word
“vamamarga”
12. ^ Tantra, Vamamarga (The Left Handed Path: Kaula sadhana)
13. ^ Evans, Dave (2007). The History of British Magick after Crowley. Hidden Publishing. Page
178.
14. ^ Evans, Dave (2007). The History of British Magick after Crowley. Hidden Publishing. Page
177.
15. ^ Evans, Dave (2007). The History of British Magick after Crowley. Hidden Publishing. Page
181-182.
16. ^ Evans, Dave (2007). The History of British Magick after Crowley. Hidden Publishing. Page
183-184.
17. ^ a b c Magick Without Tears
18. ^ Evans, Dave (2007). The History of British Magick after Crowley. Hidden Publishing. Page
182-183.
19. ^ Evans, Dave (2007). The History of British Magick after Crowley. Hidden Publishing. Page
189-190.
20. ^ Wheatley, Dennis (1941). Strange Conflict.
21. ^ Evans, Dave (2007). The History of British Magick after Crowley. Hidden Publishing. Page
193.
22. ^ LaVey, Anton Szandor. The Satanic Bible. The Book of Lucifer 3: paragraph 30.
23. ^ Barone Giulio Cesare Andrea Evola. The Yoga of Power: Tantra, Shakti, and the Secret Way
(1949)
[edit]Bibliography
• Crowley, Aleister (1991). Magick Without Tears. New Falcon Publications. ISBN 1-56184-018-1.
• Flowers, Stephen (1997). Lords of the Left Hand Path: A History of Spiritual Dissent. Runa Raven
Press. ISBN 1-885972-08-3.
• Sutcliffe, Richard J. (1996). "Left-Hand Path Ritual Magick: An Historical and Philosophical Overview," in
G. Harvey & C. Hardman (eds.), Paganism Today, pp.109-37. London: Thorsons/HarperCollins. ISBN 0-
7225-3233-4.
• Svoboda, Robert E. (1986). AGHORA, At the Left Hand of God. Brotherhood of Life. ISBN 0-914732-21-
8.
• Webb, Don; Stephen E. Flowers (1999). Uncle Setnakt's Essential Guide to the Left Hand Path. Runa
Raven Pr. ISBN 1885972105.
1. Left Hand Path Practices in the West the best religion for all people and frequently claim they
are only a valid religion for some people. "Satanists are
"Satanism is not a white light religion; it is a
born, not made" Anton LaVey. Satanism and the LHP is
religion of the flesh, the mundane, the
carnal - all of which are ruled by Satan, the striking for the lack of missionizing. This is probably the
personification of the Left Hand Path" result of the admission that no religion, philosophy or
belief system is suitable for all people.
The Satanic Bible, Book Of Lucifer
3:paragraph 30 2. How this Terminology Entered the West
The Left Hand Path is solitary, individualistic, personal,
based The beginnings of the usage of the term in the West is
on self development, self analysis, self empowerment. unclear, but some theories are that it entered Western
Altruism is materialistically equated as long termthought from:
selfishness. I think all forms of Satanism are considered1. Helena Blavatsky and the Theosophists
Left Hand Path, even Devil Worship and inverse2. Tatar Invasions
Christian-Satanists are Left Hand Path, although they3. Christianity
are frequently considered deluded. Frequently called
"evil" and "dark" by non Satanic religions, the followers2.1. Helena Blavatsky and the Theosophists
of the left hand path often have had to remain in the "I would assume that the two terms entered
darkness or face severe persecution from the religions the West largely through Madame
that ironically call themselves "good". This is testimony Blavatsky and the Theosophists, to whom
enough that the image of the purely "good" icons is a twentieth century Western occultism owe
veneer; a non-truth. virtually the entirety of their heavily Hindu-
Features of LHP philosophies frequently include: and Buddhist- influenced beliefs and
practices, from the Golden Dawn to
• Emphasis on freethought, not dogma or strict Thelema to Wicca to the New Age
systems. movement. I don't have any actual data
• Highly individualistic concerning when the terms "RHP" and
• A distinct rejection of absolutes and moralism "LHP" were first used in the West,
• Personal, not universal. however."
Freethought, Individualism and moral relativism
Left Hand Path philosophies all have an emphasis on Jason Posey on alt.satanism
freethought; not dogma or strict systems. The "rules" in "The use of this term in Tantra certainly
LHP religions are frequently merely "guidelines". The predates its use in Satanism. However, the
same attitude it applied to all knowledge, including that term LHP is used in a different sense in this
of the knowledge of reality and morals. Subjectivism context. Tantra practitioner Dinu Roman
and relativism are almost universally assumed amongst writes, "Tantra is also called Vama Marga,
followers of the left hand path. i.e. The Left Hand Path, due to the fact that
women, who are of lunar influence,
Personal Belief, not Universal negative polarity or the left, play an
Left Hand Path philosophies do not claim that they are essential role in this Science."
Wild believes that Helena Blavatsky, co- 3.1. The Righteous Right, and the Satanic Left:
founder of the Theosophical Society, was
influential in the promotion of the term. He
The left has become
writes, "These self-denying paths are
nearly universally
labelled the Right Hand Paths - a term that
shunned. The right
has its origins in the work of Blavatsky, who
has been associated
labelled magical practices that she liked as
with all things good
Right-Hand Path, and those she disliked as
and pure whilst the
"immoral" as Left-Hand Path. Occultists
left has been
after her picked up this habit,
shunned as unholy,
especially Crowley, who helped the word
evil and relegated to
come into general 'occult subculture' use.
inferiority [Gregory
The term is probably derived from Indo-
1987, Gooch 1984].
European Tantric practices, which have
Although Gooch says that "the left is universally
filtered into the modern Western folklore
unlucky in the classical world", Gregory in
survivals, an example is left as 'sinister' in
the Oxford Companion to The Mind says that
heraldry (and handwriting).""
"this symbolism has pervaded nearly all cultures
(except the Chinese)."
John Smulo
2.2. Tatar Invasions
"Ancient Greeks and Romans regarded the left
There is an alternative belief that has some following in side as inferior and profane, and in medieval
the various Satanic communities. That "it entered into times use of the left hand was associated with
the west - where black/white magic started to be used - witchcraft" [Gregory 1987]. In New Zealand the
due to the Shamanist Tatar invasions"[Anon.] Maoris considered the right side to be godly,
representing life; the left side is dedicated to
2.3. Christian mythology
demons and the devil, representing death.
I once thought that the association of the "left hand" Muslims believe good spirits speak into peoples'
path had to do with Christian superstition and right ears, but evil spirits speak into the left. In
mythology. However, that idea does not hold up to medieval Europe the Devil is drawn with its left
closer inspection. The term "Left Hand Path" and "Right hand outstretched. Amongst North American
Hand Path" have deeper meanings with a history that is Indians the right represents bravery and virility
Eastern and not Western in nature (the association of but the left signifies death and burial. In China
Satanism with the Left Hand did not appear in you must eat with the right hand. The Nuer
Christianity until the middle ages). However, as we will people of Africa, the Dutch Indies local native
see at length in the next section the taboos, phobia and populations and many other old cultures bind the
malaise surrounding everything left-handed massively left arm to put it out of use 'for long periods',
predates Christianity. especially in the young and with left-handed
people. Throughout the African continent the right
is good and the left is evil. In some places wives
should never touch their husbands' face with their
left hand. The same patterns persist in South
America: The right is good, is life, is divine but the
left is female, bad, evil and morbid. Pythagoras
set out in his Table of Opposites that the right
hand side, male; lightness, was the opposite of
the left hand side that was female, and darkness.
Schools until recent decades used to "correct"
(meaning: 'with the right') left-handed pupils.
3.3. Etymology:
3.4. Exceptions:
6. Conclusion
Left-hand-path religions are concentrated on
individualism, freethought, intelligence and oustanding
abilities and gifts. The term "left hand path" may have
entered the West's vocabulary from the East via either
the teachings of Helena Blavatsky and the Theosophists
or from the shamanist Tatar invasions. The association
of the left with diabolism, devilry, outstanding talent,
psychic abilities and the right with goodness is so
ancient it defeats investigation, but perhaps has a basis
in some of the biology of left handedness. Christianity
and Islam and all other major religions and cultures
ostracize left-handers. It may result from the sanitary
habits of societies and peoples in pre-modern times
who used their left hand to clean themselves after
defecation because the right-hand is normally the
dominant hand, and it may also result from lefties being
better represented amongst the freaks, geniuses and
gifted people of the world. In either case it seems that
the phobia of strange left-handed people lives in our
language and culture.